Hasbro's Brian Goldner Talks G.I. Joe

Promises a return to the franchise's classic '80s vibe.

There’s been a ton of speculation about Stephen Sommers‘ live-action G.I. Joe adaptation — and now that the movie’s filming, executive producer Brian Goldner is doing what he can to separate fact from fiction.

MTV Movies spoke with Goldner (who also acted as the EP for Transformers, and oh yeah, is Hasbro’s chief operating officer) at the New York Toy Fair, where he showed up to give “fans a sneak preview of the G.I. Joe toys of the future,” and got him to say a few words about the big-screen Joe. First, the happy studio promises:

“G.I. Joe” has just gone into filming this past week, with a great cast and a tremendous story all based on the comics and the animation. I think fans, and fans to come, will really love what we’re doing.

With that out of the way, Goldner proceeded give MTV a rough outline of what fans could expect from the film’s storyline:

“We all know of the Arashikage [ninja clan], and we all know of Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow, but we need to build that story. We all know the story of Duke, and the story of the Baroness. … We know the story of Destro, but do we really? We need to go back and tell the origin story of how you get a Scottish arms dealer, who comes forward in history — how does that happen? And Cobra Commander. In effect, this is all about the rise of Cobra Commander. … For fans, they’re really going to love this, because we take them on a journey. … We have to go through the first chapter and then build from there.”

But what about the movie’s spirit? Should fans expect to see a live-action version of the cartoon, an update on the Marvel comics, or something else entirely? According to Goldner, Sommers and crew want to take filmgoers back a couple of decades:

“Steve Sommers is very different. But he’s perfect, because if you think about his movies like ‘The Mummy,’ it’s the perfect action/adventure movie. If you think about what we’re trying to do for G.I. Joe, really bringing back that ’80s G.I. Joe from the Marvel comics — those first 155 issues are really our focus. If you think about that, you’ll understand what we’re trying to get at with all those characters and all the intricate relationships. I don’t think you’d see this movie as wacky. I think you’re going to see this movie as being inspirational for younger kids and totally in the sweet spot for the guys who grew up on G.I. Joe.”

To read more of Brian Goldner’s thoughts on G.I. Joe — which debuts August 2009 — follow the link below!